0 comment on Isn't Kosovo Islamic?

Nomad

March 9, 2008 at 10:45 am

well if it was in the nineties, that would not have made a problem, Russia was weak ; now that Russia recovered some kind of her former influence, through her energy supplies, through her arms sellings, through her agressive diplomaty… I bet that these arab or islamic countries don’t want to upset the russian bear, as it’s their support against uncle Sam’s ME policies.

Anyway, even in our country there are well awared persons who say that the independance of Kosovo will lead to a Catastrophe : war again in an EU aera.

because, behind the serbian recriminations there is the russian pipe-line project, that is supposed to deliver us siberian gas, kind of alternative to a chaotic ME uprising prices

The idea of promoting separatism in the first place is the point, it is not related to being Islamist or not. Most Arab and Islamic countries are under authoritarian regimes, so naturally they will oppose any separatist movements because this will be like supporting revolutions against themselves.

Nomad

March 9, 2008 at 4:56 pm

BJ,
your wrong, they don’t hate you, they just want that your cancel your reconaissance of Kosovo ; there had some manifestations that asked so. The Russians stand for them and both counties have an interest

Mark

March 9, 2008 at 7:09 pm

Well I think that a lot of countries in general as well as Islamic countries do not want to recognize Kosovo, because they are worried it would set a precedent. Basically Kosovo was universally regarded as being part of Serbia, but the reason that it got its independence was because it was mainly populated by a minority group that had problems with the majority.

What if this became repeated with the Kurds, the Baluchis, the Basques, the Tamils, whoever lives in Chechnya, the Texans etc…

US recognition of Kosovo was an egregious error in judgment: the Serbs will be resentful forever and the Kosovars will not be grateful.

Maybe. It wasn’t really about the Serbs, though, it was about the Russians. They poke us in the eye and we poke them back. That’s how the game is played. And I think US policy was always to support autonomy for Kosovo, going back to the Clinton Administration. We could hardly do otherwise, after what happened, could we?

What if this became repeated with the Kurds, the Baluchis, the Basques, the Tamils, whoever lives in Chechnya, the Texans etc…

What if it did, Mark? You don’t really expect people to want to remain part of a nation that has tried to ethnically cleanse them, do you? I don’t. If my fellow Americans tried to wipe my people out, I’d take a pretty dim view of it, myself.

Mark

March 9, 2008 at 7:29 pm

Craig,

I’m not saying that the minority groups desires for independence are unwarranted or even not the ideal outcome, I was just trying to point out what a possible motivation of these nations’ governments might be.

Mark

March 9, 2008 at 7:38 pm

I’m also not saying that any of these groups desires for independence are warranted or the ideal outcome. I honestly do not know enough about the history of the conflicts.

Except for the Texans. Those hooligan cowboys need to be put down. We need another General Sherman. Only this time tell him to hang a right instead of a left. Then we should send him to handle the Oregonians and the Vermonters, both of those groups have been making a little too much noise as well.

Lynne T

March 9, 2008 at 10:00 pm

Mark:

I think you have it. Most of the countries represented by the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Countries have ethnic minorities as well as Muslim sects — that are seeking varying degrees of regonition, whether it’s the Kurds of Iran, Turkey, Iraq and Syria, the Sindis and Balouchis of Pakistan, etc.

tommy

March 9, 2008 at 10:09 pm

This sets a bad precedent. This was not a decision the U.S. and western Europe should have made alone. If I were as Machiavellian as Putin I would have Russia and its allies recognize a Basque state in Spain, an independent Flanders, a free Abkhazia, and an independent Brittany along with many, many other separatist claims. And if the U.S. can support the terrorist/gangster KLA through arms, then why can’t Russia provide material support to the ETA or the IRA?

Nomad

March 9, 2008 at 11:14 pm

as far as Brittany, too late, we have motorways all around, britton is only taught at the university, only a few baba-cools try to preserve th language somewhere in a village, but it ain’t the father’s language it’s a bastard mixture of their own and of university, and I am french sacrebleu !

Nomad

March 9, 2008 at 11:24 pm

I was hoping that the corsicans would claim their independance, too bad, they won’t from whom would they get their allocations !

anyway, we are alredy organised as separate lands as far as the management, a basque state, a britton or a corsican, will not change much, the only thing they’ll get is more charges, roads, railways, education…

the only states that may really separate are the flanders and the spanish basque land, though they still remain EU statesand Putin is emphasizing the dilemn, that helps him to gain some more time and master cards in his diplomacy

brooklynjon

And I’ve been hoping that Vermont would declare its independence, join up with Quebec, and disappear into the North Atlantic.

If memory serves, Kosovo was independent sometime in the distant past.

IIRC, the KLA was not supported by the American government with arms, etc. They got their arms and supplies from, would you believe, a roofer from Brooklyn. It’s all in the book I referenced above. A great read.

Nomad, maybe you’re right about the bombs. Japan seems to like us now. But it was pretty egregious how we destroyed all their civilian stuff. Only nobody minded ‘cuz it wasn’t done by a Republican or Israel.

Adam B.

March 10, 2008 at 11:45 am

It’s funny how many countries are fighting tooth and nail to keep seperatist ethnic groups within their border. I mean, why would you want to force regions to remain part of your nation, if the majority of people in said region wants out?! God knows, I can’t wait for the day when Greenland and the Faroe Islands declares it’s independance from Denmark – 200 million $ saved every year!!! If only WE were given the choice to vote, I bet we’d vote ourselves out of the Danish Community of the Realm!

“Even in 1998 when we had problems with Milosevic, McCain did everything that we asked of him to the benefit of the Albanian people, including arming the KLA”, announced DioGuardi.

Is there any evidence that what this man says is true? I don’t understand how a US Senator can supply weaponry to a group in a foreign country. No Senator has the authority to do something like that unilaterally. This is a very serious allegation this lobbyist is making.

The only allegations I can find that McCain supported the KLA are in regards to his support of the “Kosovo Self-Defense Act” – which didn’t pass. That bill is discussed by Joseph Lieberman (who sponsored it) in that link.

The NRA (which I am a member of) did send weapons to the KLA, to the best of my recollection. The NRA also supported the Mujahedeen in Afghanistan. Why don’t we accuse the National Rifle Association of terrorism, then?

Nomad

tommy

March 10, 2008 at 5:39 pm

Is there any evidence that what this man says is true? I don’t understand how a US Senator can supply weaponry to a group in a foreign country.

I have no idea. It is curious that an obvious supporter of McCain would brag about such a thing, however. I would assume that any role he had in arming the KLA would have come from any influence he had over classified intelligence policy, not by personally supplying arms to the KLA.

brooklynjon

March 10, 2008 at 6:13 pm

DioGuardi was a former congressman at the time of the war, and played a large role in supplying arms to the KLA. According to the book, refenced above, by Stacy Sullivan, however, the arms came from private sources. It’s a great book. Really. Of course, I have no way to verify what’s in it

I’ll quote (without permission, just so you know):

“I didn’t know any of this at the time I met him, but I saw that Florin was a man obsessed. He had one aim – to liberate his homeland – and he said he would stop at nothing to achieve his goal. Over the next year I would follow him as he used the United States as a bas to help build the KLA. That journey would include meetings on Capitol Hill with some of the nation’s most influential policy makers; shopping sprees at gun shows, army supply depots, and RadioShacks; and treks across the mountains of Albania with horses packed with guns.

“Florin would raise some $30 million for the rebels. Along the way, the KLA would go from being considered a terrorist organization to a group of freedom fighters. Florin would recruit hundreds of young Americans of Albanian heritage to fight in the guerilla force. Eventually, the KLA would lure the world’s mightiest military alliance into fighting a war in his homeland. On March 24, 1999, NATO planes would unleash a bombing campaign over Yugoslavia that would last seventy-eight days. This book is the story of how the ragtag little force that Adrian and about three dozen men started triggerred a series of events that led to NATO’s $45 billion humanitarian intervention that would change the course of history in the Balkans.”

antares

Russians see themselves as protectors of Slavs and guardians of all things Slavic. That is one reason they support the Serbs.

Keep in mind that World War I started because the Russians mobilized to defend Serbia and that mobilization triggered treaty commitments across Europe.

Kosovo voting for independence was like allowing all residents — not just citizens — of Texas to vote for separation and annexation to Mexico. My information is that most Albanians in Kosovo immigrated there illegally.

I do not see any way that does not end in war between Serbia and Kosovo. If both sides were left unaided, Serbia would win that war in a walk. But neither side will be without external aid.

I am afraid, that this will never end, at least wether the Balkans become muslins, wether the cleansing that started with Milosevic will win the war ;

now we’ll have to define on which camp we stand ; though I hope that the independance of Kosovo and the future adhesion of Serbia to EU will be the best choice if Putin let it so (as he said to Ms Merkel)

“This variant exists, but it lies in the framework of international law.”

He said it could happen “with consent of all parties, in this case, Serbia.” “Should such a compromise be found, we will agree with it,” the outgoing Russian leader said

KristinaAlbania

March 11, 2008 at 6:36 pm

No, Kosova is not Islamic, but ALBANIAN!
and frankly I don’t give a damn if Islamic states recognize us or not, and what you (well most of you) retards think.
the truth is that the unification of Albanian lands is inevatable… and this “state -like” construction is Europe’s idea of fooling Albanians into thinking they are free and independent. It would have prefered to wipe Albanians out of this planet, but luckily America stopped that. but this story is definitly not over.

brooklynjon

bluerose799

March 29, 2008 at 2:08 am

It’s about time to recognize the historical right of Kosova (Dardania) to have its destiny fulfilled-That is full independence. Kosova never was a Serbian province. It was there, since the times of birth of European civilization, a very distinct Dardanian/llyrian identity. Always populated by Dardanias who, although under constant pressure of forcefully migration by Serbian shovinism, Tito’s Yugoslavia & Milloshevic’s Serbia, still make up 92% of the population. They speak ilirian language with the dialect GEGE. Serbs always have been a minority there. We know that Serbs appeared in Balkans (then llyria) only by the 6th Century AD, and they speak a language more similar to Ukrainian then Russian. They have always been a minority and ‘the story’ of Kosova being the Heartland of Serbia is just a pure Serbian nationalist fantasy. Facts Speak Louder Than Words and Serbian’s Lies Will Collapse by Themselves. Serbs always have been considered as oppressors there, not just by Albanian majority, but also by other ethnic groups too. Serbs just occupied Kosova during the rise of the Serbian nationalism early 20th century from Ottomans, who by then were loosing the Balkans after 500 years of occupation. The borders of Kosova are well established and recognized. Now Kosova should be Free! http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/62/094.html
I can’t comprehend how a minority of 7% of the population, pretend to take off the land, the language, culture and the life of the rest of Kosova. Kosovars have the right to live free and independent in their land where they are born, generation after generation, live and will die.